I have a web-site that was created for me many years ago, and I would now like to update the site and try and do it myself. Any suggestions on where to start? I have seen some great web-sites here that many of you have said you created yourself! I have no problem starting from scratch. Hope this makes sense!!

HiJan told you about one of the best programs out there from what I read. Not only is it expensive but has a big learning curve if your starting from scratch ... there is Lydia.com which is like online classes at whatever pace you choose, i reccommend to at least check it out if your going to attempt the software.Anyway thats my 2 centsHave FunRon

"Family over Friends" "Night over Day" "Nikon over Canon" "Gravy over Everything"

There has been a big change in website design the last few years. It used to be you would use a special program to build your site, then upload it to the web. These websites were static, the only way to change them was to make the changes on the files on your computer, then send updated files to your website. Problems arose with proprietary program versions, corrupt or lost files on your computer... "where ARE those work files from 2 years ago?". Programs in this group would be MS Frontpage, Expression, and Dreamweaver (which is still a very good program for file editing) among many others.

The new way uses a CMS - Content Management System. You install this on your web host, and totally build your website online. Other than a photo editing program, no programs are really needed. Best of all, updating and keeping your website fresh is quick and easy. And a constantly updated website keeps bringing eyeballs back!

I use Joomla! because it is an open source CMS, VERY configurable and free. No expensive programs to buy, no proprietary files to corrupt or loose. No company to go out of business or get sold. It has a bit of a learning curve, but anything involving web building does. I have built many websites with Joomla! (I'm a web developer). You might also take a look at Wordpress. It is used to build blogs, but can also be configured as a traditional simple website. I've used it a bit, and it is nowhere near as robust as Joomla!. But It is a bit easier for a novice.

Both of the above CMS examples are mature, and there is lot's of online help. When I first went this route, I was worried about everything being "in the cloud" and therefore not safe. There are precautions (backup anyone?) you can take to lessen this. Besides, I had to rebuild several websites long ago because I couldn't find all the files! As long as I'm backing up, I trust the cloud... a tad more! LOL

A small peep from me: I use Serif's "WebPlus" mainly because it's not Dreamweaver and yet it's powerful and very inexpensive, astonishingly so for all the things it can do. Granted, it does try to block the user from really digging into the behind-the-scenes coding, but for us intrepid sorts, the annoying fly is easy to swat.

I suggested the software to a friend, she bought it, and she was up and running in no time.

I've used Microsoft Expression Web currently for most of my work. I've done web development, too, but it is pretty straightforward. I have a Wordpress blog which my provider supports; it is really easy to build sites with, but it can take some getting used to with configuration. They also offer Joomla, which I've been wanting to play with....maybe with Mark's recommendation, I will check that out now.

http://wordpress.com and http://www.joomla.org/ are both free, very capable and easy (relatively) to use CMS applications. You can even host a free site at http://wordpress.org/. WordsPreess 3 has recently been released and apparently there's been some big improvements. I personally use Joomla as it offer more flixbility.

Hi, I made a Blog all on my own...if I can do this anyone can. This is my first try at it and I found it very easy to design, and maintain.go take a peek at my Blog......they are so easy to make.ChrissyGood Luck

I use Xara Web Designer at http://www.xara.com/us/products/webdesigner/.It's a wysiwyg designer that converts the created site to html files and then uploads them.It's very inexpensive and easy to learn with a lot of templates.What it isn't, is an html editor, which means you can't import templates from outside the program.